In this article I will demonstrate how you can set up Mandrill to automatically send fully customised welcome, thank you, reminder and cancellation emails through to your clients using Mandrill, with Mailchimp templates.
Please note, for this feature you will need to have your own domain, and an email address on that domain e.g. Domain - merlinsoft.co.uk and Email - support@merlinsoft.co.uk
Account Setup
Start by setting up an account on https://login.mailchimp.com/signup. To access the full functionality and ensure the email limit is not reached, a paid account is needed. However, a free account will still work for testing purposes.
Once the account is created successfully, open https://mandrillapp.com/login/ and login with the Mailchimp account you just created.
This will direct you to the following page, where you will need to either pick a paid plan or try for free.
After you select an option, click launch app to enter Mandrill.
Mandrill Setup
Domain Settings
The first time you open Mandrill, you will see this page. There is a guide on the screen for you to start the setup process, Merlin recommends talking to your domain provider to work out this step as it can get quite technical. Once the domain is correctly setup, you can verify the sending address by clicking an email verification link. You are now ready to send emails on Mandrill.
Linking to Merlin
Once your DNS settings are correctly configured and the domain is verified, you then need to link Mandrill to Merlin. To do this, go to settings and find the add API key button.
Go to Mail Settings
After you click this, it will display a randomly generated key which will only be shown once, Merlin recommends you copy this and save it somewhere to ensure it isn't lost. Keep this page open and open your Merlin admin area in another tab. Navigate to the mail settings tab.
Add the API Key to Merlin
Now, copy the API key you created in Mandrill earlier into the API key field of the mail settings on Merlin. Once you click save, any templates you have added to Mandrill will then be available to select in Merlin for any of the email types. The mail settings page determines the default email template used for the different email types, there is a setting in each event to add a different template to replace that default.
Templates
Creating Templates
To set up a new template in Mandrill, go into the outgoing tab and select the templates menu. Once you have created and published a template here, it will automatically be available to select from the Merlin Admin area and be automatically sent out.
There are details here https://mailchimp.com/developer/transactional/docs/templates-dynamic-content/ about setting up templates within Mandrill, as well as using the simpler drag and drop designer within Mailchimp to create templates for you to send out. Using the full version of Mailchimp/Mandrill, once a template is created and published in the Mailchimp editor, you can use the drop down menu on the Mailchimp templates and select "Send to Mandrill" to add that template to your Mandrill templates.
Dynamic Content
If you want to add custom information based on the order or customer the email is being sent to, you can use the mailchimp merge language Templates and Dynamic Content Documentation | Mailchimp Developer.
Available on the reminder email are -> "FNAME" (customer first name), "LNAME" (customer surname), "EVENTNAME" (title of the event), and "EVENTDATE" (date and time for the event they are attending).
Available on the welcome email are -> "FNAME" (customer first name), "LNAME" (customer surname).
Available on the cancellation email are -> "FNAME" (customer first name), "LNAME" (customer surname), "ORDERNO" (order number of cancelled order).
There are no fields available on the Thank You Email.
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